FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Ricardo Pepi thought back to how much had changed in four years.
He hung up the phone when then-U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter called him in November 2022 with the decision to leave Pepi off the World Cup roster.
Flash forward to this May 22. Pepi was a passenger in a car his father, Daniel, was driving in Dallas when current coach Mauricio Pochettino’s WhatsApp video popped in with the message sent to this year’s American 26.
“I showed it to him and he immediately started just like crying a little bit,” Pepi said. “Being left off is obviously not nice, but I feel like (I’ve been) using that in a good way to be in this World Cup. I felt like it helped me grow. It matured me a little bit.”
Known to his teammates as Rico, Pepi is among three forwards vying for playing time along with Folarin Balogun and Haji Wright ahead of the Americans’ World Cup opener against Paraguay on June 12. He has 13 goals in 36 international appearances entering the team’s final warmup match, against Germany on Saturday.
“Pepi is a killer,” Pochettino said last week.
Still only 23, Pepi has had a career full of experiences. When Berhalter bypassed him for 2022, Pepi scored in his next game with Dutch club Groningen.
“He probably deserved to be on the last roster,” U.S. star Christian Pulisic said. “He’s continued to work really hard when he’s in camp. At his club level, he continues to keep a high level, scores goals, does all the things well, and that’s why his time is now and he absolutely deserves to be here.”
Defender Antonee Robinson took the lead among teammates in consoling Pepi four years ago.
“Just called me to make sure that I was OK,” Pepi said.
Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, Pepi joined the academy of Dallas’ Major League Soccer team in 2016 after playing for its youth affiliate in El Paso. He made his MLS debut in 2019, the same year he appeared for the U.S. at the Under-17 World Cup with future national team members Gio Reyna and Joe Scally.
After just 2 1/2 years with Dallas that included the coronavirus-truncated 2020 season, Pepi moved to Germany at age 18 in January 2022 with Augsburg. He failed to score in 16 games and was loaned early in the 2022-23 season to Groningen. He couldn’t help avoid relegation and Pepi transferred to PSV Eindhoven for 2023-24.
His 2024-25 season was cut short when he tore the meniscus in his right knee during a Champions League game against Liverpool that Jan. 29. He rebounded to score 19 goals over 34 matches in all competitions in his third season with PSV, including three in the Champions League, despite a broken right arm that sidelined from between Jan. 10 and Feb. 21.
A possible move to the Premier League with Fulham didn’t get finalized in the last winter transfer window.
“Just looking at myself four years ago, obviously the player that I am now is way different, just better in those small spaces, just improved my game,” he said. “Being 18 years old going to Europe is obviously a big change. But I feel that I’ve been able to adapt now, been able compete now with a big team.”
Pepi committed to the U.S. senior national team rather than Mexico in August 2021 after discussions with his family, then scored the go-ahead goal and added two assists in his international debut to spark a come-from-behind 4-1 win at Honduras in the opening qualifier for the 2022 World Cup. He scored both goals in the 2-0 home win over Jamaica the next month.
“He has this instinct, and it’s really hard to teach that to players,” Berhalter said after those games five years ago. “He has an instinct to score.”
Pepi made a perfectly weighted pass to Pulisic for the second goal in Sunday’s 3-2 friendly win over Senegal.
“He is a player that has the capacity to read where is the space to the ball, arrive (on) the ball and have the possibility to score and to create chances sometimes from nowhere,” Pochettino said.
